


Silence

by solohux



Series: Tumblr Prompts & Drabbles [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, Injury, M/M, Protective Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 11:45:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7933381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solohux/pseuds/solohux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hux. Please,” Kylo begs, his voice breaking halfway through his plea. “I can’t take this anymore. Just wake up, please.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silence

**Author's Note:**

> from an angst prompt post on tumblr, based on 'Come on. Just wake up, please. I’ll do anything. Anything.’

Kylo senses the explosion almost half a minute before it’s reported in a panicked tone to the entirety of the bridge by Lieutenant Mitaka.   


The very moment that Hux’s consciousness becomes suddenly silent is like slow motion for Kylo, the loud and overactive mind that he’s attuned himself to being cut off from his own is like a light being blown out, leaving the room it was engulfing in its warm glow completely cold and empty.   


“Sir!” Mitaka shouts to Kylo, who’s standing at the viewport, leaning on one of the consoles, heaving for breath. “The main headquarters of Sahiba IV have been attacked a-and General Hux isn’t answering his comlink!”   


Kylo barely registers Mitaka’s urgent words. He’s trying to focus on not collapsing, not imploding on himself for even allowing Hux to go alone to a diplomatic meeting on a politically unstable planet.   


“Prepare my shuttle for immediate departure,” Kylo orders, already striding off the bridge. “Inform a medical team to be down there in one minute or they’ll lose limbs.”   


_Hux. Hux? Come on. Answer me.  
_

There’s suddenly the sound of static coming from Mitaka’s console, a broken voice trying to get through to the Finalizer, halting Kylo in his tracks. He turns, desperately hoping that it’s Hux, that he’s alright. But as Kylo’s hopes rise, Phasma’s voice comes through and his hopes are quickly ruined.   


“Sir…bomb…destroyed…headquarters…” Phasma’s message comes in broken parts across the channel as Mitaka flicks switches on the console until the Captain’s voice becomes clearer. “My troops have managed to get through the debris to find General Hux but he…is unresponsive. Sir. We will transport him back to the Finalizer immediately. Phasma out.”   


Kylo exhales sharply, noting a slight tremble to his hands.   


“Have the medical team waiting for their arrival. I want the corridors empty so the General can get to medbay as quickly as possible,” he orders in an angered tone before he goes to the hangar to wait, all the while stretching out as far as he can with the Force to attempt to reach Hux. His efforts are only ever met with nothing, reverberating back to his mind in a devastatingly loud silence.   


Phasma’s shuttle arrives briskly back at the Finalizer quicker than expected, something which Kylo is grateful for but it doesn’t install any sort of reassurance in him that Hux is alright. If Phasma has rushed back, then she too is worried for Hux’s health…or his life.   


Before the shuttle has even docked properly, Kylo is next to it, waiting for the ramp to lower so he can see for himself that Hux is still in one piece.   


Phasma and her troops step out of Kylo’s way as he boards, dropping to his knees beside the stretcher on the floor of the shuttle, scanning Hux’s unmoving body for signs of life. Bandages have been wrapped around his head, albeit very poorly, to attempt to stop the bloodflow from a deep wound on the side of his temple, bright shades of red staining the white of the bandage. Tiny cuts litter his face, and there’s already bruising around his right eye and across his high cheekbone. His pristine uniform is torn and Kylo can see blood staining the dark material of his jacket. But Kylo finds himself focussing on the unsteady rise and fall of Hux’s chest, the sound of his ragged breathing.   


_Hux. Open your eyes._

“Sir…” Phasma says, laying a hand on his shoulder.   


Kylo’s head snaps up as though she’s broken him out of a trance, and he sees the medics waiting to transfer Hux to the medical wing for proper treatment. Before they lift his stretcher, two of the medics converse among themselves and nod before strapping a breathing apparatus over Hux’s mouth and nose in the hopes it’ll steady out his cracked breathing. Kylo holds his own breath, finding the image of Hux lying still and bloody on a stretcher like this to be horrifying.   


As four of the medics gingerly lift Hux’s stretcher and carry him down the ramp, Kylo grabs the fifth by the scruff of his collar.   


“Ensure that he survives, or else there’ll be consequences for you all,” he says, bearing his teeth.   


The medic nods, fearing for his life, before scuttling away after the others. Kylo follows, his long and powerful strides louder than usual. His mind is unbearably heavy with the silence that’s usually filled with Hux’s thoughts, Hux’s _presence._ Even with the upmost concentration, Kylo can’t filter out the agonising worry that’s coursing through every fibre of his being that Hux isn’t going to be alright. This silence is too much for him to be hopeful about Hux’s recovery.   


The painfully long wait outside Hux’s room in medbay only strives to fuel Kylo’s anxiousness. He begins pacing, a nervous tick he knows that Hux has, that’s obviously rubbed off on him.   


“Sir?” One of the medics comes out of Hux’s room, grabbing Kylo’s attention. “The General is stable but he’s…still unresponsive. All his wounds have been properly mended but his head wound has caused trauma that’s too delicate for us to interfere with. The best we can do is sit and…hope.”   


The medic chooses his last word carefully, opting for ‘hope’ rather than ‘wait’, knowing that Commander Ren will need all the hope he can get.   


Kylo doesn’t reply. He merely strides past the medic and into Hux’s room, feeling a sense of relief to see the breathing mask gone from his face. A bacta patch has been placed on his temple, covering the wound, with fresh bandages wrapped around his head for more protection. There’s no blood, which Kylo is thankful for, though the bruising on Hux’s pale face has worsened significantly. Kylo shuffles closer to the bed, his fingers flexing idly by his sides. He opts to sit down on the side of the bed, perching on the edge, as though afraid to cause more damage to Hux’s frail body.   


“Hux.” Kylo says his General’s name aloud this time, hoping that his voice would rouse Hux from whatever traumatic state his mind is keeping him locked in. But Hux doesn’t move; his eyes don’t so much as shift beneath the safety of his eyelids. Kylo sighs, feeling more useless than he ever has before.   


Over the next two days, Kylo stays put in Hux’s room, refusing to leave. Medics shuffle in and around him, checking Hux’s vitals every few hours, noting no deterioration in his condition and that they simply must wait for the General to wake up on his own accord.   


_Hux. I know you can hear me. I know how much you like to ignore me. I need you to wake up now. That’s an order._  

Kylo can feel his voice transferring across to Hux’s mind but there’s never any response, no flickerof light, or hope.

Instead of taking his usual spot on the edge of the bed, he kneels down on the floor, folding his arms on the mattress, resting his chin atop them, his gaze locked on Hux’s calm face.   


“Hux. Please,” Kylo begs, his voice breaking halfway through his plea. “I can’t take this anymore. Wake up.” He buries his face in his arms, feeling a tear slip down from his eye. “Come on. Just wake up, please. I’ll do anything. Anything.”   


There’s suddenly a flicker of something in Kylo’s mind as he feels the bed shift underneath him. He looks up with wide and desperate eyes, seeing Hux’s lips part in a small groan, his eyes fluttering open slowly, adjusting to the light.   


“A-anything?” Hux whispers, his throat raw from neglect.   


Kylo gasps with relief, feeling the silence in his mind be filled, albeit with Hux’s pain, discomfort and confusion but he’ll take it; anything over the disturbing silence.   


“Yes,” Kylo says, leaning to kiss a patch on Hux’s cheek that isn’t bruised. “Anything.”   


Hux smiles as much as his split lip will allow him.   


“Cut your hair.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


End file.
